1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to garments made of flexible material such as nonwoven fabrics, and particularly to garments of such type which are adjustable to fit variously sized wearers, such as disposable diapers, panties, swimwear, rainwear, laboratory coats, paint smocks, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the art of disposable clothing, such as for example garments of the general type referred to hereinabove, the fact that such garments are intended only for one or a limited number of uses prior to disposal requires that they be formed of low cost materials, such as paper, nonwoven synthetic fabrics, etc. Similarly, such articles are desirably manufactured in as inexpensive a manner as is feasible, consistent with their disposable character. However, the fact that such articles are intended to have but a limited useful life and typically are made of inexpensive materials by high speed manufacturing techniques, leads to problems of obtaining good fit for the wearer. For disposable articles such as paper laboratory overcoats, paint smocks and the like, this may not be a severe problem where such articles can be made somewhat oversized relative to the wearer's size and can readily be rolled up or cut for use as desired, even though expedients may be inconvenient. However, disposable garments such as short pants, diapers, training panties and the like have more demanding fit requirements in that they must be reasonably comfortable and conformable to the wearer without necessity of undue modification of the garment by the user/wearer. One approach that has been employed with such garments is the use of elastic waist and leg gathers which, within a given range of sizes, provide a conformable fit to wearers of different waist, leg, etc., sizes. Nonetheless, for the purpose of high speed, low cost production, the use of elastic strips, e.g., spandex bands, tensioned elastomeric tapes and the like, have the disadvantages that such means introduce an additional oomplexity into the manufacturing process and increase the manufacturing cost of the garment. Accordingly, it would be an advance in the art to provide a garment having an opening through which an extremity or other part of the wearer's body is insertable, wherein the garment opening is able to accommodate a variety of sizes and which is easily manufactured at low cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,716,065 to N. A. Kiami discloses a diaper adapted for adjustment of the sizes of the waist opening as well as the leg openings. The diaper has on its transverse and end margins a series of spaced-apart buttonholes accommodating button fasteners which may be inserted into various buttonholes along the respective edges to adjust the size of the waist and leg openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,665 to W. L. May, Jr., et al discloses a waterproof panty of heat sealable plastic material which is cut or stamped from a single sheet to form front and rear portions connected by a narrower crotch portion and adapted to define leg openings of the panty when side edges of the front and rear sheet portions are secured together along side seams. A binding, or trim, is provided around the waist opening of the panty and similar bindings are secured around the leg openings. In this disclosed article, the front and rear portions each are folded inwardly along their edges at the side seams in the form of inwardly extending flanges. The flanges are superimposed on each other at the seams and held together by plural heat seals spaced apart from one another along the length of the flanges. The flanges contact one another along the heat sealed portions and separate slightly from one another between the heat seals to form ventilation openings for the panty.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,051 to E. R. Burkard discloses short pants in which left and right seat panels are independent of left and right front panels, with the seat panels being attached to the waistband at their upper edges and extending over substantially greater than one-half of the circumferential direction of the waistband. The forward edges of the seat panels slant downwardly and rearwardly from the waistband so that the front panels overlap the left and right seat panels at the waistband. The garment disclosed in this patent involves the use of overlapping front and rear panels which are not bonded to one another in any way, so that the garment accommodates movement of the wearer, with the front overlapped panel moving with the leg of the wearer in the forward or lateral direction relative to the rear panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,763 to J. L. Abrams, et al discloses a surgical/medical undergarment comprising at least two completely separable cloth panels which are removably fastened to one another by the use of Velcro.RTM. fasteners or similar adhering materials. The disclosed undergarment may also contain a slit positioned near the urinary tract for catheterization or drainage, and/or adhering means for keeping a folded-back upper or lower side or crotch portion of the undergarment open and secured in place during examination, treatment or surgery. Both the slit and the adhering means are also separably sealed by Velcro.RTM. fasteners or similar adhering material.
British Patent Specification No. 543,369 to H. Perry discloses knickers composed of two pieces of fabric each substantially rectangular and each having at one side edge a substantially triangular extension. The lower edge of the triangular extension extends down to the bottom corners of the piece and the upper edge thereof merges upwardly with a concave curve into the side edge of the piece. Each of the pieces is folded to bring the aforementioned lower edge into register with the lower part of the other side edge of the piece. The meeting edges are seamed together to provide the leg portion with a seam at the inside thereof, the two pieces also being seamed together with a central rear seam joining the upper edges of the extensions and the side edges into which they merge. The rear seam extends forward beneath the crotch to the leg seams. A central front seam joins the other side edges of the two pieces above the part of the edges that is seamed by the leg seam to the lower edge of the extension.
None of the foregoing approaches taught by prior art is wholly satisfactory for providing adjustably sizable extremity openings, particularly in disposable garments in a readily manufactured manner at low cost, particularly with reference to undergarments such as disposable panty-type garments, as is provided by the present invention.